DE PERE - Many companies around Wisconsin see the value in hiring people with disabilities.

More frequently, employers around the state and nation are looking at the skills those workers bring to jobs ranging from bagging groceries to upper management at financial institutions. Faced with a tight labor market, some companies are changing the way they hire and are offering more opportunities for workers with disabilities.

“There is a smaller talent pool out there right now, and our disabled associates are part of that talent pool,” said Sarah Villenauve, a human resources manager market lead in De Pere who oversees all five stores in the Green Bay area. “They bring a lot of value to the company. Their smiling faces, they’re outgoing, and they believe in our values.”

Statewide, Festival has more 170 employees with disabilities in its 31 stores; 60 of those workers are in the Green Bay area alone.

That’s people like Mike Destarkey, a bagger in at one of the Green Bay-area stores.

“The employees and my boss, they’re good to me,” he said.

Then there are the customers.

“I always smile at them,” he said. “I love my job.”

Workforce development

The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development is working with businesses to engage with a wider pool of potential workers. With a historically low unemployment rate, businesses around Wisconsin repeatedly say they are in need in workers.

“We’ve been trying to get a lot of employers to recognize that the next workforce pipeline is in varied populations,” said BJ Dernbach, assistant deputy secretary of the DWD, during a September stop in Green Bay recognizing Festival’s hiring practices. “These are fantastic employees… they may have one barrier, but there are seven or eight other skill sets.”

State agencies are also working to increase the state’s workforce through apprenticeships and other workforce education programs, including people who spent time in jail or prison and are looking for a second chance.

“It doesn’t matter where you want to go right now, there are labor shortages everywhere,” Dernbach said. “We’re trying to work with employers, regardless of what industry they’re in, trying to get people into these (jobs).”

Linda Larson Schlitz, an independent Wausau-based counselor and corporate trainer, said employers may be fearful of hiring people with disabilities out of fear of being sued, but that's unfounded if the employer knows how to treat someone with a disability.

"If you understand what a person's disability is, and how to accommodate them, people with disabilities — or people coming out of jail or prison — are oftentimes going to be the absolute best workers because they have lacked hope in the real world because they were rejected so much," she said. "They just want a place in the world to fit."

La Crosse-based Kwik Trip launched a program in 2013 focused on hiring disabled workers at more than 600 stores in the upper Midwest. Turnover for those jobs was about 9 percent compared with 45 percent for all part-time employees in 2017.

Larson Schlitz pointed out tax credits and training are available to employers interested in hiring people with disabilities or those who with criminal histories.

"Everybody has something to offer," she said. "They've just got to find it and figure out how to use it in their workplace."

Reliable jobs

Villenauve said Festival makes accommodations for disabled workers, from their length of shift to location in the store.

What employers and employees offer each other is equally important, she said. Many employees with disabilities come from programs offering temporary work.

“Usually we do a job shadow to see if it’s a good fit and we end up hiring them on for the long run, so they know it’s a stable… reliable job they can always count on,” she said.

Do you have an idea for a career-related story, a unique job opening or career-related education? Drop me a line at nphelps@gannett.com or (920) 431-8310.